understanding, apprehension, discernment, savvy

the cognitive condition of someone who understands; "he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect"

• comprehension — an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result)
• self-knowledge — an understanding of yourself and your goals and abilities
• smattering — a slight or superficial understanding of a subject
• appreciation, grasp, hold — understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something
• grasping — understanding with difficulty
• hindsight — understanding the nature of an event after it has happened
• insight, brainstorm, brainwave — the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation
• realization, realisation, recognition — coming to understand something clearly and distinctly

• knowing — clear and certain mental apprehension